Jaxx and Babe Ruth 14-year-old All-Stars compete at Regionals

Wednesday

Jul 31, 2013 at 8:09 AM

Bill Choy Daily News Sports Editor

The Siskiyou Jaxx Senior Babe Ruth baseball team and the Siskiyou Babe Ruth 14-year-old All-Stars competed in Pacific Northwest Regional play on Tuesday.The Jaxx opened the event with two loses while the 14-year-old squad could not come up with a victory on the second day of the tournament in which they are competing.In Klamath Falls, Ore., the Jaxx began play at 9:30 a.m. with a 2-0 loss to a squad from Alberta, Canada. Head coach Steve Nell said that the team struggled from the plate, garnering only three hits. A highlight was the strong play on the mound by pitcher Curt Bennett, who helped keep the team in the game, Nell said."We played a really good ball game, we just didn't get hits," Nell said.The Jaxx had to wait around for awhile for the next game as they faced a team from Montana at 4:30 p.m. Unlike the other teams in the tournament, the Jaxx are not staying the night in Klamath Falls and are heading home to Siskiyou County after the day's games are done. Things did not go well for th Siskiyou County squad as the Jaxx lost 11-1 in five innings. Again, Nell said, the squad struggled to garner runs as they were overwhelmed by the Montana team."We're just not hitting the ball well," he said.Tonight, the Jaxx face the Klamath Falls 1 team at 7 p.m. Nell said that Klamath is a top team and the Jaxx need to try to snap out of their hitting slump if they want to be competitive tonight.In Centralia, Wash., the Siskiyou 14-year-old squad also struggled as they lost to the Twin Cites team of Washington 14-0 in five innings of play.Head coach Bob Fraley said that it was just one of those games as Siskioyu had little answer against a tough team. On Monday, the 14-year-old squad lost 7-4 in extra innings to North Washington on the first day of Regionals. The squad has the day off on Wednesday and plays again at 9:15 a.m. Thursday against Alberta, Canada.Fraley said that the team needs to put Tuesday's game behind and try to "bounce back" with a victory on Thursday.